Huai Qing gazed deeply at Granny Poison, her previously light and pleasant mood turning solemn.
She grabbed the Earth Book fragment and privately messaged Number Three:
【Ning Yan, return to the capital immediately.】
Huai Qing was no longer the illiterate Huai Qing of before. Since they had consummated their relationship, she didn’t hold back anymore—calling him “Silver Gong Xu” seemed too distant, though this definitely wasn’t to deliberately provoke Lady Flying Swallow.
【Three: What’s wrong? I’m about to reach Lei Province.】
【One: Granny Poison has seen the future and must see you. Judging by her expression, it’s likely nothing good.】
Though Granny Poison hadn’t said anything, Huai Qing had guessed the truth.
For her to demand Xu Qi An’s return at the moment Buddha was attacking the Central Plains, insisting on telling him in person—this suggested the matter’s severity exceeded the situation in Lei Province.
And Granny Poison’s method of obtaining this “intelligence” was self-evident.
Poison Divination!
Though Xu Qi An was a crude martial artist, his mind wasn’t crude. What Huai Qing had realized, he immediately understood.
At this moment, for Granny Poison to rush to the capital through the market’s transportation formation was no ordinary matter.
He immediately messaged back:
【Wait for me!】
Less than half a quarter hour from Lei Province, Xu Qi An changed direction and turned back.
Under the night sky, a black shadow flashed past. His flight created deafening sonic booms that made commoners in towns and villages along the way mistake it for approaching thunder.
But looking up, they saw the bright round moon in a clear sky, without a single rain cloud in sight.
In the palace, Granny Poison anxiously paced back and forth, occasionally coughing. Her face showed a deathly gray pallor that made one worry she might collapse at any moment.
As time ticked by, the atmosphere in the imperial study grew heavy. Chu Cai Wei pressed her lips together—even as the Observer, she didn’t dare eat anything.
Song Qing’s eyes kept opening and closing, his body swaying slightly as if he might fall asleep at any moment.
In the past three days, he had only slept for two hours. When facing forging equipment, he could burst forth with energy that even the Holy Son would envy.
But once he left the alchemy laboratory, he couldn’t help but feel drowsy and nod off.
The eunuchs in the imperial study kept their heads down, not saying a word. Though it was past dinner time, they could only repeatedly instruct the imperial kitchen to keep the dishes warm, not daring to cause any disturbance.
Finally, a shadow flashed in the hall—Xu Qi An had returned.
Seeing him return, Granny Poison’s eyes brightened, her whole person visibly relaxing as she tottered to sit in a nearby chair, leaning on her walking stick.
“Granny!”
Xu Qi An strode over, grasping her hand to transmit qi while asking:
“What matter called me back?”
Granny Poison glanced at Chu Cai Wei, Song Qing, and Huai Qing behind the desk, her voice aged:
“Knowledge shouldn’t pass six ears, let alone heaven’s secrets!”
Huai Qing looked at Xu Qi An, and seeing him nod, immediately said:
“You all follow Us out.”
She placed her hands over her belly, taking graceful steps as her dragon-embroidered hem and hair swayed slightly, leading Chu Cai Wei and the others out of the Star-Observing Tower.
Once only Xu Qi An and Granny Poison remained in the imperial study, he raised his palm to create a qi barrier, completely isolating inside from outside.
Only then did Granny Poison feel at ease. Taking a deep breath, she said:
“I glimpsed the future and saw your fall, saw the Transcendent Rank experts devour the Nine Provinces’ fortune, saw the living beings of the Nine Provinces scattered like ash and smoke, not one in ten surviving.”
…Xu Qi An’s heart suddenly sank:
“In the future you saw, I cannot ascend to Martial God?”
Granny Poison nodded.
The future me cannot become a Martial God, so which link went wrong? One premise and two conditions—after dual cultivation with Huai Qing, fortune should be abundant enough… Not having the world’s recognition? But the Burin said I’d already achieved that… Xu Qi An realized.
The final condition: gaining Heaven and Earth’s recognition!
If his future self truly couldn’t become a Martial God, this must be where the problem lay.
“Granny didn’t call me back just to tell me this bad news.”
Xu Qi An withdrew from his thoughts, looking at the wrinkled old woman.
Granny Poison nodded:
“The Poison God and Buddha’s strange behavior stuck in my throat, impossible to ignore. After the youngsters went to Lei Province, I actively glimpsed the future. I finally know why the Poison God went to sea.”
Xu Qi An unconsciously held his breath.
Granny Poison paused, and when she spoke again, her voice had become hoarse and weak:
“He went to kill the Observer.”
Kill the Observer?!
The Poison God went to sea to kill the Observer? At this point, the Observer was merely a Fate Master—why would He choose to go to sea to kill the Observer now?
This answer left Xu Qi An incredulous, something he’d never imagined.
He carefully said:
“While Great Feng exists, the Observer cannot die.”
A Fate Master lived as long as their nation. As long as the Great Feng dynasty didn’t fall, the Observer wouldn’t die. Even Huang’s half-step Transcendent Rank power couldn’t kill him, only seal him.
Of course, Xu Qi An couldn’t guarantee that a Transcendent Rank expert definitely couldn’t kill a Fate Master.
After all, the Ritualist system had only existed for six hundred years, and in those six hundred years, no Transcendent Rank expert had moved against a Fate Master.
Granny Poison shook her head:
“The future I glimpsed was limited. I cannot give you too detailed answers, but the Observer did die, and his death made everything irreversible.”
Xu Qi An hummed in acknowledgment, his expression grave as his brows unconsciously furrowed:
“If that’s the case, the Poison God’s journey to sea and Buddha’s containment make reasonable sense.”
But why would the Observer’s death lead events toward an irreversible abyss?
Additionally, Xu Qi An thought of another point—that Transcendent Rank experts couldn’t kill the Observer.
The reasoning was simple: once Huang returned to Transcendent Rank, he definitely wouldn’t spare the Observer, so there’d be no need for the Poison God to go to sea.
But the logical paradox was: if a peak-condition Huang couldn’t kill the Observer, what was the point of the Poison God going overseas?
No one could answer these questions.
Granny Poison gripped Xu Qi An’s hand, speaking word by word:
“What you must do is go to sea and save the Observer, or all is lost.”
Xu Qi An nodded silently, gazing at Granny Poison’s age-spotted face before saying softly:
“Granny, is there anything else you want to tell me?”
Granny Poison’s gaze softened as she smiled:
“After the great calamity, this old woman doesn’t know how many chiefs will survive.
“I hope Silver Gong Xu will treat the Poison Tribe well, treat young Luan Yu well.
“In the future, if the Poison Tribe wishes to leave Great Feng and return to the Southern Borderlands, let them go, don’t make things difficult for them.
“If they’re willing to integrate into Great Feng, please give them some sovereignty, don’t let the court oppress them.
“If this calamity passes, let everything be as it may.”
Granny Poison supported her aged body to stand. After steadying herself, she set down her walking stick and gave Xu Qi An a formal bow:
“The journey overseas is fraught with unknown dangers. This old woman thanks Silver Gong Xu first on behalf of the Nine Provinces’ living beings.”
Xu Qi An didn’t dodge, silently nodding.
After paying respects, Granny Poison sat back in her chair, leaning back slightly and peacefully closing her eyes.
Xu Qi An stepped back three paces, bowing deeply:
“Farewell, Granny!”
…
“Creeak…”
As the imperial study’s doors slowly opened, Huai Qing waiting under the eaves suddenly turned around. She first glanced at Xu Qi An, then her gaze passed over his shoulder to look at Granny Poison sitting with lowered head in the chair.
The Empress, mentally prepared, dimmed her gaze and sighed inwardly.
“What did Granny say?”
Mindful of the nearby palace maids and eunuchs, she transmitted sound to ask.
Xu Qi An transmitted back the future Granny Poison had glimpsed, telling Huai Qing.
Those who reveal heaven’s secrets must suffer heaven’s backlash.
The reason Granny Poison had dismissed everyone but Xu Qi An was that with too many listeners, she might have died from the backlash before even revealing heaven’s secrets.
This… The Empress’s pupils contracted as she stood frozen like a wooden puppet.
After about fifteen seconds, strong despair welled up in her heart.
Xu Qi An was no match for the Poison God, let alone with Huang as well. Sending a half-step Martial God against two Transcendent Rank experts—the outcome was predictable.
Shen Shu’s past would be Xu Qi An’s future.
No, with Huang’s heaven-and-earth-devouring methods combined with the Poison God, Xu Qi An wouldn’t even receive Shen Shu’s treatment.
A dead end.
And in the Central Plains, without Xu Qi An, how could Shen Shu alone withstand Buddha’s pressure?
Moreover, the Shaman God was about to break his seal.
“Ning Yan…”
Huai Qing’s face turned deathly pale as she called out somewhat desperately.
“Saving the Observer doesn’t mean fighting to the death with the Poison God and Huang. I’ll return as soon as possible. Until then, I entrust the Central Plains to you.
“Please inform the Heaven and Earth Society and Lord Wei of these matters.”
After speaking, Xu Qi An turned, about to teleport away.
Suddenly someone hugged him from behind, followed by Huai Qing’s slightly trembling voice:
“You must return.”
The palace maids and eunuchs stared dumbfounded, frozen in place.
Xu Qi An softly hummed in acknowledgment before vanishing from the Empress’s embrace.
In that instant, Chu Cai Wei saw a fleeting glimmer of tears in the Empress’s eyes.
“Cai Wei, Song Qing, come with me.”
Huai Qing then had the palace maids and eunuchs remain outside the imperial study.
She strode forward across the expensive carpet-laid walkway. When she sat back in her rightful place, her gaze turned sharp again, her expression grew stern, all the vulnerability shown before Xu Qi An completely vanishing.
She had resumed her identity as ruler of the nation.
“Do you know how an emperor gathers fortune?” she asked slowly.
…
Xu Residence.
When Xu Qi An returned home, dinner had ended, the inner hall lights were out, and the household members were in their rooms either talking or preparing for sleep.
In the bridal chamber, Lin An wore thin sleepwear as she played Five-in-a-Row with her personal palace maid, a bowl of kidney-nourishing soup beside her.
In her early days as a wife, that dog slave had demanded her day and night without restraint. Lin An had blindly read some medical texts, deeply worried he would severely deplete his energy and harm his health, so she had her serving palace maids secretly brew kidney-nourishing soup every night.
Now she understood she had been too young then, completely unaware of a first-rank martial artist’s strength and fearsome stamina.
But she still had the palace maids brew kidney-nourishing soup at night, because it wasn’t prepared for Xu Qi An—it was for herself to drink.
“Lin An!”
Xu Qi An appeared ghost-like, startling both mistress and servant.
Lin An patted her chest, far less impressive than her sister’s, and complained:
“What are you doing? Couldn’t you knock before coming in?”
Xu Qi An waved his hand, dismissing the palace maid, then picked up his legitimate wife and walked to the bedside, setting her on his lap and burying his face in her hair as he said softly:
“I have to go to sea again. This time might not be too long, or it might be very, very long.”
“Going to sea again!” Lin An glared at him, suddenly noticing something different about her husband’s expression and gaze.
An indescribable difference.
Uncontrollable anxiety and confusion welled up within her.
She stammered:
“W-what for?”
Xu Qi An didn’t answer. Lin An was a carefree little bird—she only needed to peck at people. National affairs and the rise and fall of the realm shouldn’t become her troubles.
He silently held Lin An for a moment until she fell asleep under the influence of soporific qi.
Xu Qi An then teleported outside Uncle Er and Aunt’s room, where Aunt’s voice could be heard:
“Let me tell you, I discovered one of Sister Mu’s secrets, Little Fox told me.”
Then came Uncle Er’s voice:
“What secret?”
“Little Fox said Sister Mu is very beautiful, but that string of bodhi beads on her wrist disguises her appearance,” Aunt said earnestly.
“What’s strange about that?” Unexpectedly, Uncle Er wasn’t surprised at all, saying: “Of course she’s a beauty.”
“How do you know?” Aunt’s tone changed.
“Well, she’s involved with Ning Yan, right? Has that nephew of yours ever taken a fancy to an ugly woman?” Uncle Er said confidently.
“Ah, I only suspected they were involved,” Aunt said.
“If the whole family suspects it, then it must be true,” Uncle Er said.
“Sigh, Ning Yan has slept with so many women, why hasn’t he given me a grandson?” Aunt sighed.
Outside the room, under the dimly lit eaves, Xu Qi An knelt down and kowtowed once toward the door.
…
In Little Bean’s room.
Xu Qi An sat by the bed, stroking his young sister’s head as Xu Ling Yin lay sprawled out, snoring “ah-hoo ah-hoo.”
Her attending maid was very dutiful, knowing the young miss had poor sleeping posture, she had dressed her securely. Besides her head, only her hands and two little feet below her trouser legs were exposed.
Xu Qi An pinched her chubby cheeks, then slipped his hands under Xu Ling Yin’s arms and lifted her up.
He didn’t speak or make any further movements, just silently held her for a while.
…
Xu Ling Yue hadn’t retired yet—bright candlelight shone through the slightly open window.
At the round table, the transcendently beautiful young woman lowered her head over an embroidered robe, her eyes bright and clear in the candlelight, her delicate features as lustrous as jade.
After biting off a thread end, she sensed something and looked toward the window.
Outside was pitch black, with nothing there.